The COVID-19 Crisis activated our reptilian brain in a way that most of the people found themselves behaving inexplicably whether it was on their personal or professional life. This bizarre behaviour was due to the activation of the reptilian brain, the oldest part of the human’s brain that brought to action unconsciously the “Fight, Flight or Freeze mode”. Some professionals found themselves hyperactive and too stressed about their colleagues freeze mode and other found themselves trying to get away from the situation by insisting on unrealistic actions and plans before pandemic.
But what is coming after the initial reptilian shock?
The COVID-19 crisis and after era requires from us to support each other both as professionals and individuals. Studies have indicated that at best 25% of job performance is related to IQ (Hunter and Schmidt, 1984). Certain studies suggest it could be as little as 4% of performance that is related to IQ (Sternberg, 1996). In any case, this means at least 75% of performance is based on a person’s emotional intelligence.
Emotional intelligence is the ability to recognise your emotions, understand what they are telling you, and realise how your emotions affect people around you. According to many researchers, including Daniel Goleman, emotional intelligence is a greater indicator of success in business than IQ. If you work in an organisation, you absolutely need emotional intelligence to get your job done. With only 6% of baby boomers and over 50% of millennials generation Z, the workforce of today does not respond well to a hierarchical approach and so an emphasis on social skills, such as building trust, personal awareness, personal influence and developing others, have become critical to innovation and productivity, which in turn can lead to success. Furthermore, building positive relationships with suppliers, customers and staff has been shown to expedite results including reducing waste and cost management.
Again, it has been shown that managers and leaders with high EQ are better equipped to achieve these results. The good news is that emotional intelligence is not determined at birth, nor is it mostly learnt in early childhood. Emotional intelligence is learnt throughout life. In fact, maturity counts for a lot. The older we get, generally the more emotionally intelligent we become – at least this is the case for many people. We can actually see changes in the brain’s structure and functioning when people change their behaviours, suggesting that emotional intelligence can be acquired. There is no significant correlation between gender and emotional intelligence. Each individual has their unique combination of skills and qualities in terms of emotional intelligence. We can be strong in one area of emotional intelligence and less good in another.
EI Tips in the New Normal
The New Normal, is far away from what normal used to be, and it is common to feel frustrated as it affects our decisions and behaviours. Whether you are a leader or upcoming you have to be aware of your emotions in order to be able to recognise and control them in order to handle your team or supervisors. Ambiguity, anger and frustration are feelings you might recognise to you or in others during tentative periods of uncertainty like this. Additionally, you or colleagues might have fear from the future of your business or organisation or being usually indecisive.
Below you can find some examples of how to practice emotional intelligence through times of crisis.
Self-awareness: label the fear and change your internal thoughts.
Self-management: balance rational and emotional brain.
Social awareness: show empathy and compassion.
Relationship management: Encourage creativity and collaboration
In ttm we have developed “The Emotional Intelligence Supporting Each Other During the COVID-19 Crisis” solution in order to support you with the right tools to confront current crisis and be prepared for the post COVID-19 era. https://ttmassociates.com/leadership
